


To Every Beginning

by an_aphorism



Series: Atypical Endings [2]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Discussion of feelings, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Multi, OT4, Other, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 07:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17402795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/an_aphorism/pseuds/an_aphorism
Summary: It’s only when Eddie gets back to his apartment that he realizes they never got around to Venom’s discussion of feelings.





	To Every Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Every one of you wonderful commenters on To Every End pushed me into this. I'm back and still not over this OT4.

There’s a nap with cuddling, a shower break, and good night kisses. There’s a warm and aching good morning and a full brunch.

It’s only when Eddie gets back to his apartment that he realizes they never got around to Venom’s discussion of feelings.

 **We were distracted**.

“Yeah,” Eddie throws them down on the couch, stretching out in the warm spot of afternoon sunlight. “Had a lot of other things on our minds.”

**Yes.**

The sex hadn’t made him uncomfortable, but now in the privacy of his apartment thinking about how Anne kissed his cheek as Dan touched the bracelets against his wrist before they bid him goodbye at the door, Eddie feels almost shy.

There’s heat across the back of his neck that’s not just from the sunlight.

**We like them.**

“Yeah.”

**And they like us.**

A breath hitches in Eddie’s chest. “V, is that speculation or—” He wants it to be true because of the way they feel, but for Venom to _know_ sounds like a privacy violation.

 **We… feel.** Eddie can feel his Other sifting through the thoughts, trying to pick apart where Eddie’s concerns lie. Venom hasn’t always been perfect at it, it must be very difficult for an alien to understand human morality, so he’s proud of his darling for trying so hard. **We do not know, but they were both very… loud. We could not help hearing things Eddie.**

In his head Eddie turns down the offer of sharing. Maybe Venom couldn’t help but hear their thoughts while they were all connected, but Eddie can still choose to respect their privacy.

**Do you not want to know?**

Venom slides out from inside him to curl up on his chest. The sunlight is just starting to widen there, so his symbiote fits themselves to the space.

“I do. I just want it to come out of their mouths. I want to hear it from them.”

**Then why did we leave?**

A good question. Eddie felt the same inquiry when they were finishing brunch and Eddie was excusing himself to go home and do boring adult things like laundry and groceries. He had brushed it off then, mind set on leaving.

“I need time.”

Eddie runs his hands over Venom absently as one would a cat. Venom is mostly a puddle, but Eddie can feel them thinking this over.

**We are certain of our feelings.**

“Yeah but…” It’s hard to put into words. He instead tries to feed the thoughts directly to Venom. He’s afraid of coming on too strong, he’s afraid it’s too soon, he’s afraid he is getting sex hormones confused with genuine feelings.

He’s afraid of changing what they have.

**Anne and Dan will never be like us.**

It sounds like a silly worry, but then it twists itself in his head: _what if Venom likes one of them more than me?_

The thought rouses Venom from their lazy slump. They growl a deep, bone shuttering sound and spread all over Eddie’s skin. Venom is suddenly all outside and Eddie is within, tucked and held tight.

**We will never love anyone more than you, Eddie. You are mine. You will always be mine. We agreed.**

_We did._

Venom peels back a little to just be wrapped around Eddie’s torso. They’ve manifested most of a body and it’s tucked tight against his back. It’s a mirror to how Eddie woke up this morning, spooned with Dan.

**Before us, we did not think such a bond were even possible. My kind does not bond like this. We are unique, and even if we tried to bond with a thousand other humans, it would not be like us. We are strongest. Best.**

Eddie can feel the pride suffusing between them. Venom believes that wholeheartedly. They have not even a sliver of doubt that Eddie is their one and only.

The sureness of that blooms all the way down Eddie’s chest and almost chokes him up. There’s so few things he’s ever gotten to be sure of in his life, almost nothing if he really thinks about it.

But this. Them. It’s hard to describe. They’re the same person but they’re different. They have squabbles and arguments but—

But at the end of every day when they’re tucked into bed together Eddie knows his darlings mind, and Venom knows his in turn. Everything else works its way out around that. They may not have been together for very long, but like Venom said, what they have is literally the first of its kind. It’s easy in that way to begin to believe the strength and breadth of their love for each other. It’s easy to believe in Venom.

“You’re mine.”

**No matter what.**

Venom’s claws scrape gently up and down Eddie’s arm. They touch the bracelets where Dan’s fingers had lingered.

**We will talk to them when the time is right?**

Eddie takes a deep breath and then lets it out slowly, collapsing the last of his fear and stress into Venom. Venom squeezes him as if taking on that burden easily. “Yeah. Just casual. When it comes up. Does that sound okay?”

Venom rumbles a pleasant purr into the back of Eddie’s neck. **We have us, that’s what matters.**

Eddie hides his smile in the couch cushion, but he knows Venom doesn’t miss it.

 

#

 

With a full work schedule, the issue of Anne and Dan gets pushed aside until it’s suddenly Saturday. There’s been no texts or calls between them, but then again they’re sort of past that. It’s expected that Saturday Eddie will show up at their place between five and seven at night.

 **Casual** , Venom says the third time Eddie goes back into his closet to change.

“I know, I know, it’s just—” He pulls the tee-shirt off and tosses it away. The black one, he looks good in black. He tugs the black one off the hanger and puts it on. Better. “Okay, but what about the jeans? My better ones are dirty, I wore them when we went to the docks Tuesday. Do you think we have time to wash them?”

It’s nearly dinner time now.

 **These are fine,** Venom groans. **What is even the difference?**

Eddie tries hard not to think about how the other jeans make his ass look great. How he’s never struck out wearing those jeans, and what that means about his ideas for tonight.

Venom snickers.

Eddie rolls his neck and curses himself. He really doesn’t want to have _expectations_. He doesn’t want to go over to their place thinking that something besides board games or a movie is going to happen.

But just because he hasn’t had time this week to consider their romantic potential does not mean his brain hasn’t been replaying the more lurid details of their escapades in his dreams. No doubt thanks to Venom he’s woken up every morning either painfully hard in his boxers or with a huge mess.

**Cannot help it Eddie, feels good.**

Just thinking of it now has got him adjusting his jeans and trying to shake the heat. “I know, but casual right? No expectations.”

**Except wanting them to stare at our ass?**

Eddie puts his face in his hands. He prays for strength, Venom laughs.

They leave shortly after in the sub-par jeans.

 The ride over is helpful. It’s cool out and they focus on the road, on Venom feeding them information on how best to manipulate traffic. They take aimless detours just for the scenery, to find a stretch of road without traffic.

When you’re in a relationship, it’s the little things. If Venom has taught him anything by being completely and totally alien, it’s that. There’s joy to be had in finding a new back alley, a strip of pavement along a river, a bump in the road that has them arcing up into a friendly breeze.

It’s nice, and when they finally arrive at Anne and Dan’s, Eddie is calm and collected. He is simply happy to see his best friends and hang out.

Dan answers the door with a smile. “Hey,” he says and leans in to kiss Eddie on the cheek. Venom is quick to slither out onto Eddie’s shoulder so they can get a peck too.

“Hey.”

“Have you eaten?” Dan holds the door open for them.

In all the fussing about clothes Eddie didn’t even think about food. They had a shake for Venom first thing in the morning, so at least the bare minimum for their health and the safety of others was met. “No.”

“Told ya!” Calls Anne from the kitchen.

“Good, I made lasagna.”

In the kitchen Anne is prepping a salad. The lasagna, which has a few minutes left on the timer, smells heavenly. Venom riffles through Eddie’s memories for what comprises a lasagna, and if Eddie likes it.

**Dead meat?**

“Ah,” Dan comes back from the refrigerator with a beer which he offers to Eddie. “Actually, it’s meatless.”

“We’re trying to eat less meat,” Anne adds, taking the salad to the table. “Better for the environment, right babe?”

Dan grins, sort of embarrassed. “I watched a documentary a couple weeks back and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

Anne’s expression is soft when she comes back into the kitchen. She greets them both with a kiss and then slides back to Dan’s side. “It’s good, fun even to cook and order new things.”

Eddie thinks about all the meat stocked in his own freezer. They haven’t had to hit it hard since the phenethylamine smoothies started paying off, so maybe he should consider meatless meals when possible. It’s not like Venom gets much joy out of dead meat anyway.

Venom is intrigued at the idea of a specialty diet as a _couple thing_ they could do. Eddie tacks it onto his mental corkboard.

“Anyway, I hope it’s good,” Dan is touching the bottle of beer as if nervous. It’s weird because he’s usually so unshakeable.

“I’m sure it will be,” Eddie says. “Anne has always maintained you’re amazing in the kitchen.”

They chat a little longer about their weeks before the oven timer goes off. Dan goes to retrieve the lasagna and Anne steers Eddie into the dining room and his chair. If he thinks it’s weird that she pulls out the chair for him, he doesn’t mention it because then the lasagna is arriving and he’s nearly drooling.

 **Eddie!** Venom remarks when they notice the second plate at Eddie’s setting.

“We thought it would be rude not to give you your own,” Anne says. She starts scooping salad into her bowl.

“V is a messy eater, just so you know.” Eddie grins when Venom prods him with a tentacle.

“So is Anne,” Dan stage whispers as he takes the bowl of salad.

Anne rolls her eyes and tucks into her salad, but Eddie doesn’t miss the smile peaking at the corners of her mouth.

When the salad bowl is passed from Dan, Venom whines about not wanting to eat _glorified grass_ when a whole casserole dish of lasagna is sitting just in front of them.

“Salad is good for us,” Eddie says as he puts a serving into both their bowls. “And this is a family meal, can’t be a family meal if you don’t eat salad first.”

To be fair, they almost never eat salad. Venom mutters this to them privately, but more privately they’re a little excited to be doing a Family Meal. Eddie meets his love halfway by pushing the information that salad dressing is delicious, fatty, and you can add however much you want to a salad.

Venom eats more dressing than salad, Eddie finishes his own, and they both ignore the happy, soft looks they get so often from Anne and Dan.

The discussion wanders easily with Anne inviting Eddie and Venom to a fair happening downtown the following weekend, and then they get into talking about the construction and new shops being put in.

It’s good. Weirdly good. The lasagna is delicious, and Venom helps themselves to a second, third, and fourth serving when Anne eventually just pushes the casserole dish their way.

By the time Eddie is napkin-ing up Venom’s mess they are stuffed full and warm.

“I’ll clean up if you want to—” Anne addresses this to Dan as she picks up the salad bowl and empty lasagna dish.

Dan pops up out of his seat. “Uh, yeah. Okay, c’mon,” he walks around the table to Eddie and helps him up out of his chair. Eddie’s maybe feeling a little like a fat and happy cat, but he isn’t sure he needs that level of guidance.

Either way he’s not about to protest as Dan wraps an arm around his back and guides him into the living room. Venom is coiled as a tiny wisp around Eddie neck, radiating pleasure and thinking about how to convince Eddie to do the work of making a lasagna.

“Dinner and a movie, it’s classic for a reason, right?” Dan laughs awkwardly as they take up a seat on the couch. From the kitchen comes the sounds of Anne washing dishes. It’s domestic, nice.

“Yeah?” Eddie says because he’s not sure what Dan means. “What’re we watching tonight?”

“Going with another classic, Anne’s never seen anything with Fred Astaire, which is frankly a crime.”

“Me either.”

Dan whips his head away from the screen, a look of pure dismay on his face. “Not you too! Well then tonight’s education will be for both of you. It’s one of the best. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, there’s never been a better duo I promise you.”

And Dan looks so excited now as he searches for the film that Eddie can’t help the soft laugh.

Privately Venom thinks that they could take whoever this Fred and Ginger are.

“He doesn’t mean it like that,” Eddie says, petting his Other.

Dan finds the film and then puts the remote down to wait for Anne. “Like what?”

 **Not better than us.** Venom says before Eddie can figure out the least embarrassing way to say it.

“Oh,” Dan’s head tilts sideways into the couch and he looks amused. “No of course not. Definitely not better than you two. I only meant they were very skilled at what they did, had a lot of on screen chemistry.”

 **We have more** , Venom says just to be huffy.

Eddie blushes and then blushes further when Dan reaches over and runs his hands delicately over the coil of Venom on his neck. His heart picks up in his chest, suddenly cued into the tension of the room, into how Dan’s eyes are dipping down to Eddie’s lips.

It shouldn’t feel hard to cross that boundary at this point, but it does. It feels like a lot more is on the line now. Like he should say something before they get entangled again.

He keeps expecting Venom to say something, to protest, to demand they do The Feelings Talk, but they don’t. Maybe his Other is also holding their breath while Dan leans in, closer and closer.

And then the kitchen light flicks off and Dan pulls away. He’s got a small smile on his face, his eyes still intensely focused on Eddie.

But by the time Anne comes into the room they’re just sitting there, overly close but nothing too interesting. Eddie can feel the tension prickling up and down all his nerves, but neither of them say anything so Eddie doesn’t either.

Anne settles herself on the other side of Eddie and Dan picks up the remote. “Ready?”

Eddie swallows and nods as Anne snuggles up to his other side and gives her affirmation. In the dark living room Dan puts on the black and white film and relaxes back into the couch. Eddie tries to focus on the movie and not his still heavily beating heart.

It takes a little while, but eventually he does calm down. Venom slides into a puddle in his lap, rumbling happily when Dan or Anne reach over to give them a friendly scratch. It’s a grounding weight, a helpful and normalizing presence. They’re watching a movie, it’s fine. Good even.

Like most of Dan’s movie recommendations, the one chosen for the evening eventually enraptures them. It’s got romance for Venom and fantastic dance numbers and snappy dialogue for Eddie. Venom is running constant searches in his brain for why the movie is in black and white, why they’re talking like that, where all the technology is. They’re fascinated, and Eddie finds it all the more enriching to be able to experience the film on so many levels.

By the climax of the film Eddie is so engaged he almost doesn’t realize how Anne has curled her arms over his middle and snuggled up under his arm. How Dan has tilted his head onto Eddie’s shoulder.

Eddie only really takes in the full picture when Dan presses further into his neck and Eddie feels stubble and soft lips against his throat.

His heartbeat kicks back into high gear. He can smell Dan’s cologne, Anne’s sweet perfume. He can feel their warmth wrapped around them. Dan mouths the sensitive skin of his neck and Venom croons.

It’s maybe an inappropriate situation to get hard in, but Eddie’s just a man and he can’t help the way his mind goes back to the last time Dan had his mouth on Eddie’s skin. He’s unprepared for it, like most things.  

Dan’s teeth start grazing his skin, catching in the lightest of bites.

Eddie shutters in the next breath.

Dan sighs right into his ear and it sends chills all down Eddie’s body. In his lap Venom curls tighter as if trying to contain themselves too. He should say something, he really should, but with every passing second of Dan kissing his neck the words just seem to get further and further away.

When Dan catches the lobe of his ear with a sharp canine, Eddie moans.

It’s barely any sound, but the musical number has ended and the house is otherwise quiet, so it sounds percussive in Eddie’s mind.

Anne lifts off his other shoulder and Eddie can see her eyes as she looks over Dan still razing stubble and lips up and down Eddie’s throat. “Dan,” she says.

 And Dan, wonderful and awful Dan doesn’t even raise his head, just speaks the words right into Eddie’s skin. “Yes dear?”

“I thought we agreed.” Anne’s frowning now, eyes moving between the two of them before she looks down to consider Venom. His other has formed a face, one tentacle curled around Eddie’s fist which is clenched. Venom’s asking if they’ve done something wrong, why Anne is mad, if Anne is mad at them.

Another sigh, this one less pleasure and more like anxiety before Dan pulls away from him. Eddie can still feel the lingering heat, the alertness of his nerves. “Yeah, I— I got carried away.”

Eddie looks between the two of them. Dan looks contrite but also something else. Something pinched or tight in his face. Anne looks… disappointed or worried, but it moves further into concern when she gets a good look at him.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie says, even if he doesn’t understand what’s happened.

“What? No. No it’s.” Anne pauses, sitting up completely and taking a breath. “Okay, so maybe we should have assumed we are a little deeper in than a standard first date.”

“First date?” Eddie says as Venom perks to full attention.

Anne does a take between them and Dan, her face rolling through several expressions before settling on amused exasperation. “You three,” she says and runs a hand through her hair to tuck it neatly behind each ear. “Alright, clearly we’ve missed some steps so let’s try this from the top.” She grabs the remote and hits pause on the film before going on. “Yes, a date. This is a date, or at least it’s intended to be. A first date. Dinner, a movie, maybe some _very mild kissing._ ” This last part she aims at Dan.

But Eddie’s stuck on the date part. Venom has risen up to be on level with them, eyes wide.

**Eddie you did not tell us this was a date!**

“I didn’t know!”

Anne snorts. “Clearly.”

“How was I supposed to know!” Eddie is getting louder in his panic, and Venom comes closer to trail black tentacles over his shoulders. Venom is feeding him calmness, understanding. It helps.

“Well we were trying to be subtle.” Anne says. “Sort of leading you both in. The talking was going to happen after the movie.” Tilted in that light Eddie can sort of see it. The kisses at the door, the dinner, the overall mood. Maybe it would have been more apparent if it weren’t for all they got up to _last weekend_.

Eddie clears his throat. “The talking?”

“Yeah,” her eyes flicker to Dan who has thus far been silent. “Dan?”

Dan’s still got a strange expression on his face, inverted as though he’s thinking something through. None of them know what to make of it. Venom reaches a black tendril toward him which Eddie catches. “Wait, V.”

**Have we done something wrong?**

“Dan,” Anne reaches across Eddie to capture Dan’s hand and draw his attention outward. “Do you want to go to the other room to talk?”

“No,” Dan shakes his head. “No, I don’t want to exclude them. I just, uh. I got nervous. I’ve been nervous. We did all that talking about dinner and a movie and I was totally fine and then they were here, and I got all in my head about it.” He laughs, but the sound is all wrong. “I didn’t want to mess it up, but I messed it up anyway.”

“No, honey.” Anne holds his hand tight, urging Dan back toward them. “You didn’t mess anything up, right guys?”

“We’re fine,” Eddie says, “Just a little lost.”

“See? They just want to know where we’re at, which is what we were about to do. A little quick on the trigger but that’s okay, they’re very hot.”

Eddie flushes at the compliment but tries to offer Dan an encouraging smile. Dan’s eyes stay down on where his and Anne’s hands are joined.

Anne hums and scoots a bit forward, pressing her knees into Eddie to get closer to Dan. “But it seems like maybe there’s a little bit more going on here? If you’re comfortable with it, could you talk to us about it?”

Dan takes a deep breath and then a long sigh. “Yeah. Yeah. But it’s dumb. Like really dumb.”

 **We want to know how to help.** Venom says, careful now to keep their blackness off Anne and Dan so no boundaries are accidentally slipped. Eddie presses a mental kiss to his darling.

“It was fine. I wasn’t lying before,” he directs this part to Anne who nods understandingly. “We were going to talk to you two tonight about… us. The four of us. And Anne and I were both really excited about it. And then when you were here I just— I don’t know, I started to worry that you guys might not want the same things. Maybe just the sex, or maybe just… Anne. And uh,” Dan blinks hard and clears his throat. “Really dumb, I know. But maybe you both weren’t really here for me. Not that I’d blame you, Anne’s the best. Everyone knows Anne’s the best, uh.”

Anne gets up to switch sides of the couch, so she can wrap her arms around Dan. “So, you wanted to rush us into bed,” She says gently, pressing a kiss onto Dan’s shoulder. “I think that makes a lot of sense, those are really big fears to look at. We haven’t gotten to hear from Eddie and V yet, and I think it’s normal that you might have those kind of worries.” She squeezes him tight before pushing back to catch his eye. “But you and I did talk about us, it’s you and me _plus._ We aren’t making anything from scratch here, we are looking at adding something to us. No matter what it’s us, remember?”

Dan nods, his expression clearer. Eddie can tell this is more well-tread ground for them.

“Yeah, that’s the dumb part because I do trust you. Us.” Dan says this with absolute conviction, finally cracking a tiny smile.

“Good,” Anne smiles back and then nudges him so she can sit more comfortably on the couch and face Eddie and Venom. “Then let’s do the scary stuff and put the rest of your worries to bed.” She leans in to touch her head against Dan’s and press a delicate kiss to his cheek. Anne turns to address Eddie then. “I had a whole well-practiced speech, but I imagine you’re at least halfway clued in by now, so that’s moot.”

 **We are on a date.** Venom says.

“And you both want to continue dating us?” Eddie ventures.

“Last week was… surprising.” Anne says. “Yes, we had been talking about getting you two into bed for a while, but when it was all said and done both Dan and I… well we felt a lot of stuff. Good stuff. Emotional stuff. We’d talked about the potential before because of our history,” she gestures between herself and Eddie, “but I guess neither of us really thought it was going to be like it was. We don’t know how you guys felt about it, but it felt really right to us and the long and short of it is that we’d like to keep doing it. Hanging out and sex and dating and really whatever we are all comfortable with.”

Dan beside her is nodding. “It’s a package deal, we aren’t looking to split you up, and Anne has been _punishingly clear_ she is with me and not looking to leave.” They smile radiantly at each other before turning their attention back.

And Eddie is just… sort of speechless. The shape of the whole thing has been unfolding rapidly in the last could of minutes, but it’s still hard to grasp. It’s hard to imagine the thing that you wanted presented just in front of you without consequence or labor.

 **Eddie!** Venom hisses not so subtly. **Eddie, they had the same idea!!**

He shouldn’t be embarrassed, but the heat rises up the back of his neck anyway. Even with the symbiote he’s still not completely acclimated to brutal emotional honesty. It catches him at the oddest moments and he feels a youthful shyness he doesn’t yet know what to do about. 

He watches instead both Anne and Dan’s eyebrows go up, expressions unfolding in nearly identical delight.

“Yeah,” Eddie says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah so… we also felt a lot of good things. I don’t think we really got as far thinking about it as like, dating. But uh. Yeah. We are in. For that. Right V?”

**Yessssss. We already liked Anne, love Anne. But then we got to know Dan and he is just like Anne. Kind and soft and he makes the best sounds when he is sucking—**

“OKAY!” Eddie interjects, because the very explicit image of Dan between his legs is absolutely not what he needs when trying to conduct this serious conversation. “Yeah, we like Dan. A lot. Thanks love.”

  **Love you Eddie,** Venom says, looping himself once more comfortably around Eddie’s neck.

“Wow,” Anne grins, “Great, that was so much less painful than I imagined it was going to be.” Eddie gives her a dirty look and she laughs. “Oh what? Because before Venom you were this in touch with your feelings?”

Eddie’s come a long way in emotional connectivity since his twenties, but she still has a point. There’s a lot to be said on how sharing a mind space deepens one’s emotional intelligence. It’s certainly done wonders for Eddie in a lot of areas of his life.

Including this one right here. Without Venom, would it even be possible to be with Anne and Dan? Would it be possible for Eddie to be this healthy and happy and ready to take such a step forward if he and V hadn’t done so much work together already?

He feels an intense wave of love and appreciation for his darling. Caught up in the day to day it’s easy not to see all the work they’ve done, how they’ve learned and grown together. But now here on Anne and Dan’s couch, heart nearly bursting with the possibilities of the future, he’s just so happy, so grateful.

“Fair,” Eddie says. In his head Venom purrs and the blackness around his throat gives an affectionate squeeze. “So where do we go from here then?”

Anne nudges Dan, “I dunno, what do you think babe? Still worried?”

Dan reaches over and takes Eddie’s hand. It’s warm and a little sweaty, but Eddie twines their fingers together anyway. “So, you want this? All of it?”

Eddie leans in, drawing Dan forward with Venom’s tentacle until he can press his lips to Dan’s. “Yeah,” he breathes the word, hot and a little scared, a little excited, against Dan’s mouth. “I think we want all of it. V?”

Venom slides across the distance, finally connecting the four of them in both physical and mental spaces. **We do,** Venom says. They lick at Anne’s cheek and she giggles. Eddie feels his heart thump hard.

It’s good.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I meant this to be soft love confessions and kissing, but then the boys really needed to talk it out. 
> 
> twitter @an_aphorism


End file.
